Break Time
by Brave orange blossom
Summary: Zen spends his break with Shirayuki. Wanting to touch her hair and help her at the same time, he offers to put up her hair. Zenyuki. Not set during a specific time frame. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Akagami no Shirayuki-hime

 **Pairing:** Zen x Shirayuki (Zenyuki)

 **Author Notes:** I finally got some inspiration for my second Akagami no Shirayuki-hime fanfic. I've wanted to write another one but I haven't had any inspiration or time lately. I recently went back to college and while I've been busy, I always find time to watch the new episodes of Akagami no Shirayuki-hime. I'm enjoying the second season so far. There are many moments I'm looking forward to seeing. Writing this fanfic will help me write the characters in character more.

This isn't set during any time frame in particular. If I had to set it, it would be after the Tanbarun Arc. There aren't any spoilers in this though. Oneshot.

I hope you guys enjoy it!

 **Break Time**

Zen Wistalia took his duties as prince seriously. That was common knowledge for everyone who resided in Clarines. What wasn't common knowledge was that Zen loved taking breaks. He would take short breaks in order to sneak over to the pharmacy and see a certain red haired pharmacist or he would take a long break and spend it napping.

Zen read the report in front of him. According to the report, there were no abnormalities inside or around the castle. While he was sure he would've known if someone or something snuck in, it was still good to see nothing was wrong. After reading the rest of the report, he nodded and placed the report on top of his desk in his office. He looked over at the clock and grinned. It was time for his afternoon break.

It was perfect timing as well. None of his aides were inside his office at the moment. If his aides were there, he knew they would complain (well mainly Mitsuhide Rouen) about his next action. He turned around and walked over to his balcony doors. After opening them, he stepped out and walked over to the railing. Just as he was about to jump over the railing, he heard his office doors opening behind him. He cursed and quickly vaulted off the balcony.

Hearing an exclamation behind him, he grinned wryly as he landed on the ground in a crouching position. So much for escaping without being noticed.

He looked up at his office to see Mitsuhide walking out onto the balcony and presumably looking for him. Zen got up and started walking away carefully as he didn't want to get caught.

"Zen!"

Zen stopped walking and looked behind him curiously. His eyes widened upon seeing Mitsuhide looking down at him. Uh oh.

Thankfully, Mitsuhide knew his place and decided to stay put. Zen knew Mitsuhide would guess that it was his break time.

"Don't get _distracted_. You only have enough time for an hour long break, Zen," Mitsuhide called. He knew Zen would probably visit Shirayuki sometime during his break and unfortunately, Zen didn't have the time to hang out with Shirayuki as long as he wanted.

Grumbling under his breath (as he knew the reason why Mitsuhide mentioned getting distracted), Zen glared at the ground. He turned his head to look up at his aide. "Ah," he called back. He turned his head back around and continued on his way. One of the first things he decided to do while on his break was to see if a certain red haired pharmacist was free or not. He cut through an outside path that would lead him back inside the castle.

A few minutes later, as he was passing by the outside courtyard, he caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eyes. He stopped walking and turned his head to look. His eyes widened upon spotting Shirayuki. Shirayuki was sitting on the grass under a tree with a closed book beside her. Was she reading during her break? He blinked a few times confused. The odd thing was that Shirayuki wasn't reading the book but was on her hands and knees looking through the grass. Was she looking for something?

Zen started walking in her direction. He thought Shirayuki would hear him approach but she continued to look around her and through the grass. Once he got close enough, he stopped. "Shirayuki?"

Shirayuki murmured something inaudibly as she looked through the grass.

Zen raised an eyebrow. Didn't she hear him? "Shirayuki," he said raising his voice.

When Shirayuki didn't respond again, Zen kneeled down on the grass in front of her. Maybe touching her would help?

He was about to reach out and touch her shoulder when Shirayuki looked up at him.

Shirayuki, noticing that Zen was in front of her, emitted a startled yelp as she fell backward onto her legs. Zen, startled by Shirayuki looking at him, emitted a soft sound as he fell backward onto the grass.

It was silent for several moments. The silence was broken by Shirayuki giggling. An amused grin went onto Zen's face. He started chuckling. A few moments later, they were laughing outright at themselves and the absurdity of what just happened.

Zen was the one who stopped laughing first. Instead of speaking though, he watched Shirayuki as she laughed. Shirayuki had her eyes closed as she continued to laugh. A soft smile came onto his face. She looked adorable. There was a wind that blew through the area every so often and every time it blew, his eyes were distracted by her red hair fluttering in the wind. It was as if her hair were telling him to reach out and touch it.

A few moments later, Shirayuki stopped laughing and opened her eyes. Her smile was still on her face as she looked at him. "Zen."

"Yo, Shirayuki."

"For a prince, that was very ungraceful," Shirayuki said amused.

Zen's cheeks turned a light pink. "I could say the same for you."

"That is true. In that case, _we_ were very ungraceful," Shirayuki said. A smug grin went onto Zen's face. "What are you doing here anyway? Why didn't you call out to me earlier?" Shirayuki asked curiously.

A fond look was in Zen's eyes. "I tried. I thought you would hear me approach but apparently not. I even called out your name. I was about to touch your shoulder when you startled me by looking up."

Her cheeks turned a light pink. She was too busy looking for something that she didn't even hear him approach. "Sorry. I was distracted."

"It is alright," Zen said grinning. "Were you looking for something? Do you want help?"

Shirayuki's eyes widened as Zen made her remember what she was doing before he came. "That is right. I was looking for something. I brought it with me but now I can't find it."

"What were you looking for?" he asked curiously.

"I was looking for my ribbon," Shirayuki said looking around her. Not finding it, she looked back at Zen. Noticing his confused look, she decided to elaborate. "I'm taking a break from work. Once I return to work, Ryuu and I are supposed to go to the herb garden together. Sometimes when I work in there, I put my hair up with my ribbon. I had the ribbon with me as I was reading my book and the next moment, it was gone."

Zen was surprised to hear she put her hair up while she worked sometimes. "You didn't see it disappear?"

She shook her head. "I was reading my book. By the time I realized it was missing, it was already too late."

Zen grabbed his chin with one hand and assumed a thinking position. The ribbon itself was light and a small object. If the ribbon was a bright color, it should be pretty easy to find. The problem was that they didn't know when Shirayuki lost it. She could've lost it in the courtyard somewhere or on the way towards the courtyard. As the wind blew once more, an idea came to him. "What about the wind?"

She looked at him confused. "The wind?"

He let go of his chin and nodded. "The wind probably blew it away somewhere. Your ribbon is a light object. It probably flew away from your side without you noticing."

She nodded. "You are right." A worried expression went onto her face. "I hope it didn't fly somewhere I can't reach."

"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll be able to find it."

She blinked a few times looking confused. "We? What about your work, Zen?"

"I'm taking a break as well."

Shirayuki looked at him hopefully. "You'll help me look for it?"

"Ah. I'm sure we can find it with both of us looking for it."

Her normal smile went onto her face. "Thank you, Zen."

He smiled at her. "By the way, what color is your ribbon?"

Shirayuki blinked looking confused. "Eh? It is blue."

"Light blue? Dark blue?"

"The same color as your eyes."

Zen's cheeks flushed a light pink. He looked away from her. "I-I see. That should be pretty easy to find."

She smiled.

They got up and started looking around the courtyard for her ribbon. After a few minutes of looking through the grass and in the outside hallways, Zen walked back to the middle of the courtyard where Shirayuki was waiting for him.

"Did you find it?" Zen asked. He had a feeling he already knew the answer though.

She shook her head disappointedly. "I looked all over but I couldn't find it. What about you?"

A frown went onto his face. It was the same for him. He looked everywhere he could but he couldn't find it. He even tried checking places that were out of his reach. "I didn't find it either."

"I see. I wonder where it is now. I hope it didn't fly away because of the wind."

He nodded. It would be hard to find the ribbon if it flew away because of the wind. The wind blew once more making his eyes look over at her hair. Her hair was beautiful. It was as if it were shimmering in the sunlight. He knew her hair was as soft as it looked like. One of his hands reached out unconsciously.

"Ah!"

He froze at the exclamation. Realizing belatedly what he was about to do, he hastily let his hand fall to his side. He looked away his cheeks flushing pink. Did Shirayuki realize what he was about to do? He looked back at her nervously. A confused look went onto his face. Shirayuki was looking up at something with her mouth slightly open. Remembering her exclamation, he hastily looked her over to make sure she was alright. A concerned expression went onto his face. "What's wrong, Shirayuki? Are you alright?"

"… Zen. That," Shirayuki said lifting a hand to point at something in the same direction she was facing.

He turned to look at what she was pointing at. His eyes widened upon seeing something blue in the tree above them. Could that be what they were looking for? He looked back at her noticing that a smile was on her face. "Is that it?"

She looked at him and nodded.

He smiled. "It is great we found it. How are we going to get it?"

"I'll climb up there and get it."

His eyes widened. He knew she was good at climbing trees but he didn't want her to get hurt. He was about to open his mouth and suggest that she leave it to him when she started walking towards the tree determinedly.

"Shirayuki! Wait!"

She looked behind her and smiled.

He faltered at the sight of her smile. He knew that smile. It was the smile that told him she would be alright no matter what happened. It was the smile that told him to trust her. It was the smile that reassured him and calmed him when things were rough. He smiled back and nodded. There was a part of him that still worried about her but he knew she would be alright.

She nodded back and turned towards the tree. She stopped in front of the tree and reached for the first branch.

Zen stayed where he was and watched her climb the tree. Truthfully, he wanted to get closer but he didn't want to make it seem as though he didn't trust her. His cheeks flushed pink. If he were too close to the tree, he would be able to see up her skirt as well. He respected her and respected her privacy. He would never do something like that.

A few moments later, Shirayuki reached the branch where she could find her ribbon. Fortunately, the ribbon was caught in a smaller branch. The wind blew once more. The end of the ribbon fluttered in the wind but the rest of the ribbon didn't move. She got onto her knees and slowly inched her way over to her ribbon careful not to lose her balance or put too much weight on the tree branch.

Zen watched worriedly from the ground. His body was alert for any sign that meant something was wrong. If the branch broke or if she lost her balance, he would catch her.

She stopped next to the ribbon and reached out with one hand. She separated the ribbon from the branch and smiled once she got it free. She wrapped the ribbon around her hand and slowly started making her way down the tree.

Zen didn't realize he was holding his breath until she was safely on the ground. He let out a relieved breath and jogged over to her. "Shirayuki."

She turned around and smiled at him. She held up the hand that had the ribbon wrapped around it and showed it to him. "Look, Zen. I found it. I'm glad I found it."

He stopped in front of her a few feet away. A smile went onto his face at hearing the happiness in her voice. "I'm glad you found it, Shirayuki. I told you we would find it."

"Except I was the one who did all of the work," she said smiling playfully at him.

"That is true. I'm sorry, Shirayuki," he said sincerely.

Shirayuki blinked a few times confused by the apology. A couple of moments later, she raised her hands and started waving them rapidly in front of her. "You don't need to apologize. It is alright. Thank you, Zen."

He probably should've expected it but he was caught off guard by the gratitude. Why was she thanking him? He was about to ask her about it when his eyes noticed something red on her hands. He stepped closer to her and reached for her hands careful not to scare her.

She stopped what she was doing and looked at him surprised. "Zen?"

He remained silent and grabbed her hands with both of his own gently.

"Zen? Um… Everyone can see us," she said embarrassed.

He looked at her face noticing her cheeks were pink and smiled. She was adorable when she blushed. "Forgive me, Shirayuki. I saw something red on your hands. I thought you might be injured." He turned his attention back to her hands and looked them over. He noticed a few scratches that probably came from climbing the tree and getting the ribbon free but nothing else. He was about to apologize once more and say it was his imagination when he noticed something on the top of her right hand.

She looked around embarrassed. Thankfully, there were no people around to see what they were doing. Upon feeling his thumb caress her knuckles, she emitted a surprised noise and looked back at him.

A pained expression was on his face as he looked at the small cut on the top of her right hand. "Shirayuki. Did you get this from climbing the tree?"

She blinked looking confused. Noticing his attention was on her hands, she looked down at them. Her eyes widened upon seeing the small cut on the middle of her right hand. She had forgotten about it when Zen arrived. She looked up at him and hastened to reassure him. "Don't worry. I was searching in a bush before you came and I cut my hand on a branch."

He looked up at her and nodded. He knew Shirayuki remembered her promise to him about not hiding anything. She wasn't one to tell a lie either. "You should be more careful." He was glad it was only a small cut and nothing serious. "Does it hurt? We should go to the pharmacy."

She smiled at him. "It doesn't hurt. I'm alright. I promise I'll get it looked at when my break ends."

The cut didn't look bad. It wasn't bleeding but by the small blood trail on her hand, he could tell it bled earlier. He cursed silently. Why didn't he notice it earlier? "I'm sorry I didn't notice earlier."

She shook her head. "It is alright. Don't worry, Zen."

He was about to mention how he couldn't do that but he didn't want to make it seem like he was overreacting. Maybe he was overreacting already? He held both of her hands in one of his own as his free hand searched through his pockets for something.

She looked at him confused. What was he doing?

Zen emitted a small happy sound as he found what he was looking for. He took the object out of his front pants pocket and showed it to her.

At first, Shirayuki didn't register the object that Zen was showing her. She was too busy thinking about the happy sound he emitted before. It was… cute. She blinked returning to the present and looked at the object in front of her. "A handkerchief? What is this for, Zen?"

"It is for your injury. I know you said you were going to wait to go to the pharmacy and get it looked at but it isn't good if it remains out in the open like that."

"Eh? But that is your handkerchief, Zen. I can't use it."

A smile came onto his face at the protest. "But I want you to use it. Hold still so that I can tie it over your cut."

Unable to refuse his kindness, she nodded. She watched as he gently held her hand and tied the handkerchief around her hand. Whenever Zen was kind to her or gentle with her, she would feel a warm feeling in her chest. A smile went onto her face as she looked at the handkerchief securely tied around her hand. The handkerchief was blue and it had a small Clarines emblem on one of the corners. The handkerchief had fancy looking embroidery near the edges and was really soft as well. Was it made from silk? It wouldn't surprise her if it was. Zen was royalty after all.

After making sure the handkerchief was securely tied around her hand and wouldn't fall off, he reluctantly let go of her hands and stepped back.

"Thank you, Zen. You didn't have to."

His smile remained on his face as he noticed the smile on her face. Maybe it was just his imagination but he thought he saw disappointment in her eyes when he let go of her hands. It made him want to touch her again. "I wanted to."

Shirayuki looked back up at him and giggled.

He blinked looking confused. "Shirayuki?"

"I'm sorry. It is just you have some leaves in your hair."

An amused smile went onto his face. "I see." He raised a hand to his hair and started patting it. He frowned as he moved his hand to a different part of his hair. Where were the leaves?

Shirayuki watched him amused. She muffled her giggle behind a hand.

An unhappy look went onto his face. Why couldn't he find them? He looked at her. "I'm glad this is amusing you, Shirayuki," he said wryly.

At the sight of his unhappy look, she almost felt bad for laughing. "Here. I'll get them. Stay still," she said smiling.

"Huh?" Zen blinked and forced himself to remain still as she stepped closer to him. He cursed his ineloquent response.

She stopped, stood on her tiptoes and raised a hand to his head. He knew she was only getting the leaves out of his hair but there was that temptation to touch her again. She was too close to him. She gently picked out the leaves and once she was done, lowered herself to the ground and showed him the leaves.

His eyes widened. "Those are small leaves. No wonder I had trouble finding them."

Shirayuki managed to stop herself from giggling just in time. She nodded and let the leaves fall to the ground.

The wind blew once more making Zen's eyes light up. He had an idea. If Shirayuki agreed, he would be able to help her and touch her hair at the same time. "You still need to put your hair up. Let's go inside the castle to do that," he suggested.

She was about to say that she could do it outside but the wind blowing stopped her from voicing the words. It was too windy to put her hair up outside. She nodded reluctantly.

"Here. This way," Zen said. He grabbed her left hand with his right hand and started leading them towards one of the outside hallways.

"Z-Zen!" Shirayuki said.

He looked behind him and grinned playfully at her.

He took them to the nearest empty room that he knew no one would check. He let go of her hand to open the door and gestured for her to go first. She flashed a shy smile at him and walked into the room. He felt a warm feeling in his chest at the sight of her smile. He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

Noticing that she wasn't moving, he gently took hold of her hand once more and lead her over to a large sofa in the middle of the room. She let out a surprised noise but didn't fight him or voice any protests. He held her hand as she moved to sit down on the right side of the red sofa. He only let go once she was sitting and sat down beside her.

She looked over at him waiting for him to speak.

Instead of speaking though, he held out a hand and gestured for her ribbon.

"Zen. I can put up my hair myself."

A fake disappointed look went onto his face. "You don't like my touch, Shirayuki?"

Her cheeks flushed pink. "Eh? N-No! That isn't it. I'm just saying I can put my hair up myself. You don't need to do it for me."

"What if I want to though?"

The retort she was about to voice died before she could voice it at his words. "Eh?"

He smiled patiently at her. "What if I want to help you put your hair up?"

She silently unwrapped the ribbon from her hand, offered it to him and turned around to hide her flushed cheeks.

His smile turned soft as he reached for the ribbon. His cheeks flushed a light pink as his fingers accidentally brushed against hers as he grabbed the ribbon. He scooted closer to her careful not to get too close lest he wanted to unsettle her. He reached out with his hands and carefully ran his fingers through her hair.

As Zen ran his fingers through her hair, it made her think that this was the first time someone other than her grandparents helped her put her hair up. She noted that Zen was very gentle as he tucked the hair behind her ears and gathered all of it together. Was he experienced in this? "Zen."

"Hm?"

"Have you done this before?"

"I have. I used to help Ani-ue with his hair."

Shirayuki's eyes widened. Prince Izana? That was a surprise. "You helped Izana-ouji with his hair?"

"Ah. Ani-ue would use it as an excuse to talk to me."

"You didn't like that?" Shirayuki asked.

"I'm not saying I disliked it. It is just… He is difficult to talk to."

She smiled sympathetically. She knew the feeling. "I understand."

After wrapping the ribbon around his right hand, he gathered her hair once more. Holding her hair in one hand, he unwrapped the ribbon and moved it underneath her hair. He had touched her hair many times before and knew of its softness but he couldn't help but marvel at the softness. This was probably one of the only times where he was allowed to touch her hair for more than a few seconds. He was going to cherish this time. He was going to cherish this time with her.

She stayed still as Zen tied her hair up with the ribbon. Not feeling his fingers anymore, she blinked a few times. "Are you done, Zen?"

"Almost. I just need to tie the ribbon into a bow."

She nodded making him protest the movement. She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Zen."

He grinned. "It is alright. Now hold still." He tied the ribbon into a bow and after making sure the ribbon wouldn't come loose somehow, he let go of her hair and scooted backward a little to give her some space. Noticing how she wasn't moving, his grin remained on his face. "I'm done, Shirayuki."

"Eh? Is that so?" She turned to face him.

His cheeks blushed red as she turned to face him. This wasn't his first time seeing her with a ponytail but he couldn't help but think that he liked this hairstyle. She looked adorable with a ponytail. He wished he could see her with this hairstyle more.

Shirayuki turned her head a few times trying to see the back of it but to her disappointment, it was to no avail. She still couldn't see her ponytail.

He couldn't help but smile softly at her cute actions. "Shirayuki." She turned her head to look at him confused. Noticing that he had her attention, he lifted his hand and pointed to a mirror that hung on the wall to the right of them.

She turned around to look at the mirror and felt embarrassed she didn't notice it earlier. She got up and walked over to it. She stopped in front of the mirror and turned her head a little to see her ponytail. A smile came onto her face as she looked at it. Zen did a great job. It looked as if she did it herself.

Zen's smile remained on his face as he watched her look at her ponytail. He was glad she liked it.

Shirayuki turned around and walked back to the sofa. After sitting down once more, she looked over at him. "Thank you, Zen. It looks great. I appreciate your help."

"No problem. I'm happy you like it," Zen said. "In the future, feel free to ask if you want my help again." He meant to say it in a joking tone but it ended up sounding more serious than joking.

To his surprise, her cheeks flushed pink. "T-Thank you, Zen. I'll keep that in mind."

"A-Ah," he said embarrassed. How was one girl this cute?

For the rest of their break, they stayed in the room Zen led them to. Whenever they weren't talking, there was a comfortable silence where they enjoyed each other's presence. Sometime during a lull in conversation, Shirayuki mustered up the courage to touch Zen's hand. He had looked at her surprised and upon seeing the pink flush on her cheeks, smiled and held her hand for the rest of the time they spent together.

Zen hoped she didn't notice how his cheeks flushed pink at her touch. Unbeknownst to him, she had noticed. In a way, it made her feel embarrassed but there was also a part of her that was happy to see him like that.

A few minutes before their break ended, he reluctantly let go of her hand and lead her out of the room. They said their good byes and promised to meet up again soon.

A smile was on Zen's face as he walked back to his office. Spending time with Shirayuki was just what he needed. He loved spending time with her. There was a part of him that always wished they had more time together though.

He was sure they would be able to meet up again soon. They were in the same castle after all.

He was looking forward to his next break.

 **ZZZZZZZZZZZZ**

 **Author Notes:** I hope you guys enjoyed this story. If you have time, please review. I would love to know what you thought of my story.

See you next time!


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